Redstone | Redstone, CO 970-963-2526 | visit our website Redstone is a 19th-century historic gem, hidden in the dense aspen and blue spruce of the White River National Forest.  The town of 92 people is located on the West Elk Loop Scenic and Historic Byway (Colorado Highway 133), the doorstep of the Snowmass/Maroon Bells Wilderness Area.  In 2008 it was designated as a Preserve America Community.  The Crystal River flows through the village founded in 1901 by coal and steel baron John Cleveland Osgood to house the men (and their families) who worked the Redstone coke ovens.  These "cokers" turned Coal Basin's high-grade metallurgical coal into the coke which fired the blast furnaces that helped build America.

Oak Creek Tracks and Trails Museum| Oak Creek, CO 970-736-8245 | visit our website One hundred years ago, tiny Oak Creek, Colorado was attracting new residents from around the globe.  Immigrants from Poland, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Japan arrived in Oak Creek seeking work in the nearby coal mines.  Others founded new businesses in the quickly growing downtown commercial district.  In 1908, the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railroad reached Oak Creek and the town became a refueling stop for coal-hungry locomotives.   By 1915, some 2,000 people lived in Oak Creek, and more than 30 businesses operated in a collection of one and two-story masonry and wood-frame buildings.  Six of these businesses were saloons.

Independence Ghost Town | Pitkin County, CO 970-925-3721 | visit our website The town of Independence lies in a picturesque meadow on the west side of Independence Pass alongside State Highway 82 at an altitude of 10,880 feet.  According to legend, Billy Belden, one of the original prospectors in the Roaring Fork Valley, hit a rich vein of gold on July 4, 1879 and named the claim, and the tent city around it, Independence.

Grand Mesa National Scenic Byway | Mesa and Delta Counties, CO visit our website The nationally designated Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway crosses over the Grand Mesa on a 63 mile trek ranging from the orchards of the valley floor to the alpine meadows of its 11,000-foot summit.  You can begin your trip in Plateau Canyon, where Highway 65 joins I-70 approximately 30 miles east of Grand Junction or in Cedaredge at the Byway Welcome Center next to Pioneer Town.

Trails of Gold | Victor, CO 719-689-2675 | visit our website The Trails of Gold is a series of hiking trails & interpretive sites through Victor's 1890s gold rush mining country. Located as a side trip off the Gold Belt Tour National Scenic Byway, the trail passes by historic mines, mill sites, and railroad routes.  Although privately owned, many of these sites are open and accessible to the public.

Barney Ford House Museum | Breckenridge, CO 970-547-3112 | visit our website The Barney Ford House Museum honors Barney L. Ford, an escaped slave who prospered and became a prominent entrepreneur and black civil rights pioneer in Colorado. The house is located in the center of downtown Breckenridge, at the corner of Washington and Main Street.

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Cortez, CO 800-422-8975 | visit our website THE CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER is an innovative leader in advancing knowledge of the human experience through archaeological research, education programs, and collaboration with American Indians.  Since 1983, Crow Canyon researchers have studied the rich history of the ancestral Pueblo Indians (the Anasazi) who inhabited the canyons and mesas of the Mesa Verde region over 700 years ago.

The Mineral Belt Trail | Leadville, CO 719-486-8409 | visit our website The Mineral Belt Trail is one of Colorado's highest and most spectacular paved pathways. Dedicated on July 29, 2000, the trail loops the city of Leadville, one of the greatest mining districts in the world and one of Colorado's 21 National Historic Landmarks. The Mineral Belt Trail was designated a National Recreation Trail in June, 2002.

Museum of Northwest Colorado | Craig, CO 970-824-6360 | visit our website The Museum of Northwest Colorado is housed in the former National Guard Armory in downtown Craig, Colorado. The building was built in 1921 and was used as an Armory until the 1970s when it became a community center. It was renovated in 1991 and became the local history museum.

Town of Creede | Creede, CO 800-327-2102 | visit our website Welcome to the historic Town of Creede, Colorado! Creede.com is the official site of the Creede/Mineral County Chamber of Commerce, your connection to vacations, recreation, attractions, and the Arts in southern Colorado.

Telluride Historical Museum | Telluride, CO 970-728-3344 | visit our website Located in the Old Miner's Hospital, the Telluride Historical Museum provides visitors with a view into the life of early twentieth century hard rock miners who lived and worked in a harsh and often dangerous mountain environment.  The museum retains the hospital's original operating room and nurses' station and interprets Telluride's boom-bust-boom history with interactive dramatic exhibits.

Hinsdale County Courthouse | Lake City, CO 970-944-2515 | visit our website The Hinsdale County Courthouse is important for its association with the settlement and development of Lake City during the late 1800s mining era. Constructed in 1877, the building is significant as the state's oldest courthouse still in use for its original purpose. The first year of its operation as a courthouse was marked by the appearance of suffragette Susan B. Anthony.

MacGregor Ranch | Estes Park, CO 970-586-3749 | visit our website MacGregor Ranch is the last remaining working cattle ranch in Estes Park and one of the few sites operating as both a working ranch and youth education center in northern Colorado. It is unique in that its historic collection and structures are original to the 1873 homestead family, and its collection is completely intact. MacGregor Ranch offers a window into the past for its visitors. Take a step back in time as you come in the front gate. Percheron draft horses and ranch hands work the hay meadow. The main ranch house, now the museum, is warm and inviting - welcoming children's groups and summer visitors. The Black Angus cattle and horses grazing the meadow remind you of simpler times.

Chimney Rock Archaeological Site | Pagosa Springs, CO 970-264-2287 call 970-883-5359  between May 15th and Septmeber 30th  visit our website In the shadow of the awe-inspiring twin pinnacles, experience a unique part of America's heritage at one of the most unusual and intriguing archaeological sites of the Ancestral Puebloan people in the Four Corners area of SW Colorado. Located between Durango and Pagosa Springs, Chimney Rock is a 4,100 acre site within the San Juan National Forest and is surrounded by the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. It was designated an Archaeological Area and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

The Leadville Historic Walking Tour and Heritage Museum | Leadville, CO visit our website In the late 19th century, Leadville was the richest mining district in the world. Leadville's mining history began in 1860 with the discovery of gold south of town. About 8,000 prospectors soon arrived, and during the next five years, unearthed more than $4 million worth of gold. Once the gold played out, most of the prospectors moved on. A few remained and discovered the area was also rich in silver and lead. Prospectors once again swarmed the town. By 1880, Leadville was home to more than 30,000 residents, along with stores, hotels, saloons, dance halls, gambling joints and brothels.

Town of Crested Butte | Crested Butte, CO 970-641-7992 | visit our website The Town of Crested Butte, a registered National Historic District and turn of the century Victorian mining town is located just 28 miles north of the City of Gunnison and south of the famous Kebler Pass, known as the home to the second largest living organism in the USA…an aspen grove!

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad | Antonito, CO 888-286-2737 | visit our website Hidden away in a little-known corner of the southern Rocky Mountains is a precious historic artifact of the American West that time forgot. Built in 1880 and little changed since, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is the finest and most spectacular example of steam era mountain railroading in North America. Its equipment, structures and vast landscape exist today as if frozen in the first half of the twentieth century.

City of Durango | Durango, CO 970-247-3500 | visit our website Nestled between red sandstone bluffs in the lush Animas River Valley, Durango, is blessed with natural beauty matched only by its colorful history. As miners flocked into Southwest Colorado in the 1870s, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Company purchased land from homesteaders to establish Durango's charming downtown. With the quick mining money came grand hotels, fine Victorian buildings and even a 3 story "skyscraper," all of which still stand in Durango's historic district. Along Main Avenue, the big red trolley runs daily past the brick and stone buildings that still bear the names of the frontiersmen who built them.

Flat Tops Trail Scenic and Historic Byway 970-878-5344 (Meeker) 970-638-4511 (Yampa) visit our websites COME WALK IN THEIR FOOTPRINTS East gateway located near the town of Yampa in Routt County and West Gateway located near Meeker in Rio Blanco County. The Flat Tops Trail cuts through the heart of the original White River Plateau Timberland Reserve.  This landscape of forest, lakes, streams and pasturelands contains a rich history of exploration, recreation and settlement. Native Americans, trappers, pioneers, miners, cowboys, ranchers and outlaws all left their mark on the land, much of it now protected for public recreation and enjoyment.

Mayflower Gold Mill Tour | Silverton, CO 970-387-5488 | visit our website The Mayflower Mill is one of the last and best preserved mills in the United States that documents the process for turning ore into gold. Gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper and tungsten were all mined in the San Juan Mountains. Coupled with the Old 100 Mine Tour, the Mayflower mill shows the complete story of the mining process.

This project is paid for in part by a State Historical Fund grant
from the Colorado Historical Society.